A toast for thy faithless consort
by Adara's Rose
Summary: Trapped in a loveless marriage, Wolfram takes a lover. All would probably be well, except now he is pregnant. And the baby is most definitely not Yuuri's...
1. Prologue

Prologue

Later, Wolfram could honestly say that he had been thoroughly deflowered on his wedding night. In fact, he had trouble sitting the next morning much to his mother's amusement. The fact that it wasn't his new husband that had done the deflowering he kept to himself.

Wolfram glanced discreetly over to where the man who actually had done the deflowering sat. His red hair was still slightly disarrayed from Wolfram's fingers, and his eyelids drooping with satisfaction and exhaustion. He was dressed this morning in a high necked shirt that covered the bite marks wolfram had given him. The shirt was tight, but he did not as much as hint at any discomfort from the scratches on his back. Wolfram hade made them sometimes between digging his heels into the other man's lower back and screaming his name in wild abandonment as he experienced one of the most intense orgasms of his life.

* * *

The lack of a king at the breakfast table was a bit suspicious, but wolfram primly informed them that his majesty was still asleep. He felt it was a rather safe assumption as yuuri had been at least four drinks past hammered when wolfram poured him onto the sofa in the royal bedchamber to sleep it off. He hadn't stirred all night, even though both wolfram and his bed partner had proven themselves to be rather on the noisy side whilst... ahem, deflowering.

Yozak elegantly deflected Conrad's questioning of his choice of attire by some joke that made the half-human laugh even as he blushed, and Yozak sent Wolfram a quick reassuring look from under his long lashes. Just looking into those eyes made a tendril of heat spark through Wolfram's body, and subconsciously his thighs parted slightly in invitation.

"It is good to see you happy, sweetie" Celi smiled. She looked as if she was about to say something else, but just then a very dishevelled Yuuri made his appearance.

"Good morning, everyone" he said with a scratchy voice and blushed as they all turned to look at him.

"Good morning, Heika" the rest of the table chorused, but Wolfram simply inclined his head and simply said, "Husband." His voice was so sweet it made Gwendal look at him with unbridled suspicion.

"Wolfram!" Yuuri squeaked in alarm and blushed even harder. "I am soo sorry about last night, I-"

Wolfram quickly interrupted him before he could say something damning.

"It is quite alright" he hurried to assure the other man, "I am quite well this morning, as you can see."

Celi squealed with laughter, clearly interpreting the exchange as Yuuri apologizing for his passion the previous night.

Wolfram was in no hurry to correct her.


	2. Chapter 1

_Two years later._

Gisela beamed at her young king-consort where he sat on the examination table in front of her.

"Congratulations!" she cried happily; "it is a girl!"

Wolfram didn't seem particularly excited at her news, instead he was frowning as if he was most unhappy. Perhaps it was the sex of the baby that worried him.

"I am sure Yuuri-heika will be most delighted at hearing about his daughter, geika. And you are young and fertile; you will have many more children. Besides, girls can be Maoh now!" The entire tirade had come out in mostly one breath, and she had to stop and pant for a bit.

"Your mother was the maoh" Gisela added once she could breathe somewhat normally again, vainly trying to cheer him up.

Wolfram still said nothing as he pulled his blue shirt back on and started doing up the buttons. It was as if he had not heard a word she had said after 'it's a girl'.

"Geika?" She asked, worried. "Wolfram? What is wrong?" He finally deigned to look up at her and there was a look in his eyes she did not understand but she knew that it made her feel uneasy all the way down to her soul. As if he was just waiting for his elder brother, lord von Voltaire, to lose his temper bad enough to at least attempt kill him. Or as if he wished for lord von Voltaire to kill him.

"Yuuri-heika will be ecstatic when he returns from his journey!" She chirped in a desperate attempt to cheer him up. Yuuri was presently off with Conrart travelling around the kingdom to 'get to know his people better', which in Gisela's opinion was code for 'sowing his wild oats'. It would be no surprise to her if there were rumours about royal bastards flying about the kingdom in a year or so. However, the royal consort was becoming increasingly white-faced and his breathing more and more laboured. Finally, Gisela resorted to holding a bag in front of his face, ordering him to breathe and rubbing his back comfortingly until he seemed to get a hold of himself.

"It is not the sex that worries me, Gisela" he said raspily as he finally stopped gasping for air, smoothing down the wispy blue fabric of his shirt. His belly was just barely noticeable, but only if you knew what to look for. "What worries me is that the child might be born with red hair."

It took Gisela a few moments to grasp what he had said and the implication of the statement, but when she did she turned as white as her uniform.

"The child might not be Yuuri-heika's" she breathed in horror.

Wolfram grimly shook his head.

"I can assure you, it is not."

* * *

Wolfram was awed at himself that he managed to get through the rest of the week without letting on that Gisela had ripped his world to shreds with a short sentence. Today was the third day since she had dropped a castle on him, and he had spent over two hours playing with his adoptive daughter Greta without as much as a peep. He was Yuuri's queen (even if he had managed to make people stop calling him that), and any bad behaviour of his reflected badly on the king. And he desperately did not want that, no matter what other sins he had committed. After everything, he did still care deeply for Yuuri. He wasn't in love with him anymore, but he did like to think of him as a friend. A clueless, spineless friend, but a friend nonetheless.

Wolfram put down his brush with a deep sigh. At least he had been spared from too much morning sickness; he was more tired than usual, true, and his temper had proven to be literally flammable these days. The signed tapestries in various parts of the castle would be happy to attest to that, and one of the writing lecterns in the library was never going to recover from the shock of sudden incineration when Wolfram had accidentally knocked over his inkwell. But at least he didn't spend most mornings in the bathroom, as he had heard of other pregnant demons doing. And besides, there was definitely truth in what they said about pregnancy sex...

He sighed again and turned away from the blank canvas, instead walking over to the window to look out over the gardens and allow himself to daydream. He didn't know it, but he was stroking his belly and dreaming of a little girl with red hair and green eyes playing in the grass, shrieking and giggling as she chased butterflies. It was impossible, of course. He would have to get rid of it as soon as Gisela had procured the potion he had requested from her once his shock had passed. He must not think of what grew inside him as a child or he might not be able to go through with it. And he had to go through with it.

There could not be a little girl with red hair. There must not be. His husband was dark in colouring and he himself was fair. It would be clear to everyone the moment the baby was born that it was not the king who had provided the seed, and then… he thought of all the lessons in court behaviour and laws that he had been forced to sit through during his engagement to Yuuri. He knew very well that the moment his secret became known his life - and that of his lover - would be forfeit. A faithless royal spouse was on the same level as someone who had committed high treason, as far as Shin Makoku was concerned. And the person whom the adulterous relationship had been been had with was worth even less. He could not bear the thought of Yozak suffering so.

No, the baby had to go, no matter how it broke his heart to make the decision. He had to think of Yozak. And of himself.

* * *

Gwendal was pacing a hole in his floor, a frustrated scowl on his face. As an earth wielder, his patience was legendary; it was said of earth wielders that they had the patience of a mountain, but Lord von Voltaire had the patience of a mountain chain. However, at this point in time his legendary patience was stretched uncomfortably thin. He wanted to take Wolfram by the shoulders and give him a good shake until he revealed whatever secret it was that made him sneak around with Gisela. He wanted to threaten Gisela with bodily harm until she did the same. Maybe he would make them both guinea pigs for Anissina until they cracked. No, even he was not that cruel.

But if he did not find out what in the nine hells was going on in the next few days, he was bloody well going to threaten to do so.

* * *

Gisela tried her damnedest not to cry as she sat alone in her office, her mind whirling from what Wolfram had asked her to do. Whichever path she took now, she was damned to the gallows either way. She knew the laws of Shin Makoku as well as Wolfram, and even though she thought they were ancient and outdated and most of them were cruel, they were still very much valid. The way she saw it, she had two options; beheading or burning at the stake.

If she chose to deny Wolfram the potion that would kill his child and instead helped him conceal the pregnancy, her life would be forfeit the moment the treachery was discovered. She would be labelled a conspirator to commit high treason and Yuuri would have no choice but to order her set to death by beheading. However, if she did give Wolfram the potion to kill his child and they were discovered… Gisela shuddered in horror. Shin Makoku was a rather accepting country as far as abortion went, but when it came to the royal family all normal rules and sense went out the window. The moment she had identified Wolfram's unborn child as a girl she had made it a person, and as a person it was the heir to the throne of Shin Makoku and would one day be the 29th Maoh. If she helped Wolfram abort the child, it would be considered as murder of the heir to the throne. Murder of a noble person, even one still in the womb, carried the punishment of being burned alive at the stake. In short, she was damned if she did, and damned if she didn't.

She wished for the millionth time that she had never diagnosed the Royal Consort as being pregnant. She wanted to take those damned words back and forget the whole disaster, but she couldn't. Every time she closed her eyes she saw a heavily pregnant Wolfram being led to his death and heard his screams as the flames rose high around him. She couldn't condemn him to that. She _couldn't_.

She nodded decisively, having made her decision. She was going to go tell Wolfram that she was not helping him abort the baby, and then she would go to the temple and pray to Shinou that the child, once it was born, took after it's birth parent. Shinou might not be in the temple anymore, but surely some divine power up there would hear her. Hopefully, it would a benevolent power.

Gisela wiped at her wet eyes and drew a deep, shaky breath. She could not bear seeing Wolfram executed for taking a little happiness where he could find it. It was plain for anyone to see that his marriage was a sham, the king completely uninterested in his husband's charms. If she had been in his position, had she not done the same?

She reluctantly stood on legs that refused to steady, then headed out of her office. If she was destined for the gallows, she might as well start walking now.

* * *

Wolfram was not in the least bit surprised when Gisela came to him that same afternoon and told him that she could not in good conscience aid him in murdering the heir to the throne, in fact he simply nodded and thanked her for her honesty.

He waited until the door had closed behind her before he allowed himself to cry.


	3. Chapter 2

When Yozak returned from his mission after having been gone from Shin Makoku for nearly three months, he made a beeline for Ser Gwendal von Voltaire's office to give his report. To be honest, he would have much rather gone to visit the royal consort, but such activities were best to wait with until nightfall. At least if he wanted a _proper_ reunion. His trousers tightened slightly at the thought and his trademark smirk turned lascivious.

He quickly wiped the look of his face when the door he had just knocked on opened and he was faced with an unusually rattled Gwendal.

"Ah, Yozak. You have returned. Good, good. Come in." The earth wielder wandered back inside, a look on his face that took Yozak a few moments to identify. Gwendal was worried. No, he was past worried and headed into full-blown panic mode. He had not been this distressed since that business with the boxes. It could have only one cause.

"What's wrong with Wolfram?" Yozak asked by way of greeting.

"I… I do not know" Gwendal admitted, leaning heavily against the desk. He looked exhausted. "I fear he may be sick."

Yozak's heart clenched in fear for the beautiful man he had grown to love.

"How so?" He asked, forcing his voice to stay neutral.

"He spends quite a lot of time with Gisela. His magic is unreliable. His temper has become more explosive, when he is not sullen. And he spends most of his time in his studio." Gwendal looked helpless, and Yozak's heart went out to the man. It was well known that Gwendal loved none more dearly than his little brother. Well, except perhaps Gunther.

"I'll go have a word with him, shall I?" He offered as handed Gwendal a tightly bound scroll containing his report on the mission. Gwendal took it distractedly.

"Please do so" he said in a grateful tone of voice, "he seems to like you a great deal, hopefully enough to confide in you."

 _Likes me?_ Yozak thought as he left Gwendal's office with purposeful strides, _my dear commander, you have no idea just how much your brother 'likes' me._

* * *

Gwendal closed the door behind Yozak and rubbed his temples. The headache that had been building all morning had not subsided in the least with Wolfram's promise to find out what in the blazes was going on, but then again he had not expected it to. He had, after all, fretted over Wolfram's health for almost a fortnight at this point. That Wolfram had been resolutely stone-walling him for the same amount of time hadn't helped his state of mind in the slightest. At this point he was so wound up he couldn't focus on his knitting, which was his main way to calm down and relieve stress.

He contemplated locking himself in with Wolfram in the royal bed chambers and refuse to leave until Wolfram came clean, but figured that would just as well get him burnt to a crisp as confided in. The relationship between the brothers wasn't the best these days, and they rarely spoke of anything of importance anymore. Then again, Gwendal ruefully admitted to himself, Wolfram did not seem to confide in anyone at all presently. Except maybe Gisela.

Where had his happy little brother gone? Gwendal wondered in the beginnings of despair. In his little sunbeam's place was now a solemn young man, quiet and distant, seemingly indifferent to his husband's continuous ignorance of his marital duties and obligations. Once more, Gwendal found himself wondering if Yuuri was unfaithful to Wolfram, but he very much doubted it. At least Gwendal felt rather confident that Yuuri had not been unfaithful in the carnal sense. In fact, Gwendal doubted Yuuri had ever had sex with anyone at all apart from the passion he had shown himself capable of on his wedding night. He was still very much a boy.

If he followed that line of thought, he might as well admit - if only to himself - that the court had a tendency to indulge the king's immaturity, making excuses for him when he proved himself ignorant of courtly behaviour and demon traditions. Perhaps it was because they were so jaded themselves. Gwendal, his brothers, his mother, and the others at the castle had seen and been through too much; Yuuri's innocence was a fresh start,; one they all wanted to preserve, at any cost. But, as he thought of his littlest brother's pale, pinched face and haunted eyes, and the way Gisela wandered around the castle as if she was carrying the world on her shoulders, he had to ask himself a question he'd rather avoid, one to which he had no answer.

Had the price they had made Wolfram pay for preserving Yuuri's naivety and innocence, been too high? And if it was, then what did that say about him?

* * *

Wolfram was, as had been his habit as of late, sitting in front of a blank canvas and finding no inspiration to paint whatsoever. He sighed and put the brush away. He would not be creating anything today, either. Instead, his hands slid down to stroke his rounded belly which was becoming harder and harder to hide each day. He felt immensely grateful that Yuuri was away on some sort of journey around the kingdom with Conrad, for it meant that the baka was too busy impressing people and getting himself in trouble by ignoring customs to wonder what was up with Wolfram. He really wasn't in the mood for Yuuri's particular brand of compassion.

The door creaking open startled Wolfram so bad he nearly fell off his chair, but when he saw who it was he lit up with joy and hurried to meet fell into Yozak's arms like he was created to rest there and eagerly turned his face up for one of those kisses that always made his head spin. He promptly received one, and it was followed by a second that made his blood boil. A third had him tangling his hands in his lover's hair. After that there was a flurry of passionate kisses and groping hands that culminated in them falling back onto the worn red sofa, clawing at each other's clothes as they shared the same air.

After, his longing having finally been sated, Yozak spoke.

"Your brother is very worried for you" he said as he stroked Wolfram's bare back. The youth sighed deeply.

"I know. I just… don't know what to tell him. I can't tell him the truth." Yozak frowned. That wasn't like the Wolfram he knew.

"Why can't you tell him the truth?" He questioned and Wolfram looked at him with hooded eyes.

"I have only told Gisela" he said softly. Now Yozak was officially worried.

"Wolf" he said, a note of pleading in his voice. "What is it you are so scared of people finding out, love?" Wolfram bit his full lower lip, a move that normally made Yozak want to kiss him. Now it only made his worry increase.

"I am… with child." Wolfram finally said. "Your child."

"Well, hell" was Yozak's flabbergasted summary once he got his mind together again and his brain had regained more than basic functions.

Well hell, indeed.

* * *

Gisela smiled nervously at her father, trying her best not to see the sharp look he was levelling her with. Gunther might act both flighty and thoughtless, but beneath the mask of the airhead hid one of the most observant people in Shin Makoku. To think he would not know something was up was as stupid as thinking that the sun slept in a golden chariot pulled by flaming horses each night. That she had done so until she was twenty-seven was completely beside the point, even though she was still rather fond of that particular myth.

"Well?" He demanded, not a trace of his usual foppish persona present as he fixed her with his grey eyes over the edge of the teacup. "Are you finally going to tell me why you are sneaking around the castle like a street dog waiting to be kicked?"

Gisela looked at her hands, which were desperately clutching her own teacup. She wanted desperately to confide in Gunter, but dared not do so. It was bad enough that she and Wolfram knew and thus put their lives at line, she could not risk her father as well.

"Gisela" he said, "my patience is wearing thin. I know that there is something up with you and Wolfram. Please tell me you're not sleeping with him."

The statement was so ludicrous that Gisela could not help but let out a short bark of laughter.

"Shinou, no! I am not sleeping with him!" She protested, wincing at the shrillness of his tone. Gunter's sharp eyes did not soften one bit, staying steel grey and hard as platemail.

"But someone is" he said. It wasn't a question. Gisela looked away again, saying nothing. Apparently Gunter took her silence as confirmation, for he pressed on. "Do you know who he's fucking?" He demanded, and Gisela felt a bit better as she could honestly tell him that she did not. That was the one thing Wolfram had not told her, although she had a pretty good idea. As long as she did not ask and he did not tell, she could claim ignorance.

Gunter levelled her with another measuring look.

"I'm going to find out" he told her calmly, "one way or another. I will be much less cross if I find out from you." Gisela hung her head, but remained stubbornly silent. She had promised to keep her silence, and that promise was currently all that she had.


	4. Chapter 3

Of course, no matter how the three conspirators wanted to keep the secret forever eventually the cat was going to come out of the bag. If nothing else than because Wolfram's belly was growing rapidly with the development of the baby. Therefore, Yozak and Gisela held a rather frantic council one afternoon in one of the lesser used gardens.

"What are we to do?" Gisela cried in a hopeless voice. "We won't be able to hide the truth for much longer, and once it is out people will start counting. And it doesn't take much intelligence to add up two and two and get less than six!" With this outburst she was referring to the fact that King Yuuri had been on his journey for almost six months, but Wolfram was only just entering his second trimester. In other words, he had not gotten pregnant until at least a month after the king left the castle. Yozak scowled at her in frustration.

"I am fully aware of that!" He hissed. "I am at a loss, same as you!" They glared at each other for a full minute, willing the other to come up with a plan that would save Wolfram from the execution that most likely would be unavoidable the moment Yuuri found out that he had been cuckolded. It was Gisela who looked away first.

"I have been wracking my brain since I confirmed the pregnancy" she said, "and I have no idea what we are to do. None of my fanciful plans are possible to put into practice." Yozak sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair.

"And all of mine contain too many variables."

"Then what do we do?" Gisela asked again. Yozak looked helpless, a look she had never seen on his face before and would prefer never to see again.

"I honestly don't know" he said, softly.

* * *

In the end, it was a potion that ended the charade. Well, to be precise, Anissina entering the healing wing just as Gisela handed Wolfram a potion made to boost his immune system. Anissina immediately recognized the potion on it's very unique shade of bright pink and screamed in excitement before Gisela had a chance to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

"Wolfram! YOU'RE PREGNANT!" She screeched happily as she threw her arms around him in a delighted hug. She completely failed to see the panic in his eyes or the way Gisela's pale face turned chalky white.

"Oh, I must go invent a machine to care for the baby!" Anissina crowed as she turned and practically ran back to her lab, having forgotten why she had gone looking for Gisela in the first place.

"Do you…" Wolfram said with a voice sounding like the death rattle of an ancient man, "do you think anyone heard?"

"Yes" a voice from the door, a voice cold as steel, said. "I overheard. And I am fully capable of putting two and two together and get four." Gunter von Christ stepped into the healing wing, his face like thunder.

"And what I would like to know, _your majesty_ , is this: _Who did you cheat on your husband with?_ "

* * *

Gisela sank slowly down onto the thin pile of hay that was meant as a bed in the cell where she had been thrown when she refused to answer her father's increasingly irate questions. Her eyes were raw with the tears she had been shedding since that horrible moment in the healing wing, when she realised that all her precautions, lies and cover-ups had been for naught. Gunter knew, and she knew her father well enough to know he was completely loyal to his king. That, and he was furious with her for having lied to him. The entire ordeal had ended with both her and Wolfram jailed on suspicion of high treason, no matter how much Gwendal had tried to reason with the furious air wielder. In the end, he had had to concede defeat; it was, after all, Gunter whom Yuuri had trusted to run the kingdom in his absence. With Gwendal's help, of course, but still. If Gunther said that Gisela and Wolfram were to be jailed awaiting the return of Yuuri Heika, jailed they were.

Gisela started crying again; she did not know which cell Wolfram was in or how he was faring. In fact, she knew nothing at all except that she was terrified of what was going to happen to them. And not only to her, but to Wolfram... and the baby. Oh Shinou, the poor baby that had not even been born yet! Gisela's body shook with sobs as she finally allowed herself to break down after months of stress and worry. Here was no point in remaining collected anymore; there was nothing she could do. Although, to be honest, in a way it was a great relief to have the matter out of her hands.

* * *

Gwendal was drunk. Outrageously, horrifyingly drunk. What was worse, he was proving to be a pathetic drunk. The kind that sniffles and cries and generally makes a mess of themselves and makes everyone around them uncomfortable as they slur random self-pitying sentences that makes no sense to anyone who is at least marginally sober.

At this current point in time, he was drunk to the point of unconsciousness in order to deaden the pain of realising just how much Wolfram had concealed from him, and the horrifying consequences thereof.

"I'd 'ave done it too" he slurred to his latest stuffed toy. It was supposed to be a bear, but to be honest it looked more like a pig. "If I was married to a man who d'dn' love me." He hiccuped and took another long drink from the bottle in his hand. There were two more empty ones on the desk. "Get a lil' happiness, y'know?" More tears fell down his cheeks and he collapsed into his chairs, wailing with grief.

"He is my brother!" He keened. "And I can't save him!"

Gunter stood in the doorway and looked at the wreck of a man that he barely recognized as his friend. Gwendal was sobbing like a small child with a broken heart, anguished cries tearing themselves from his throat. It made Gunter's heart break and he walked over to pull the bottle of alcohol from Gwendal's hand.

"Time to get you to bed, my friend" he said gently, putting an arm around Gwendal and pulling him to his feet. Gwendal came willingly, but was so unsteady on his feet that he nearly sent them both crashing to the floor. Somehow, Gunter managed to wrangle the staggeringly inebriated Gwendal into his bedroom just down the hall, Gwendal sobbing hysterically all the while. His face was a mess of tears and snot and he had never been more adorable in Gunter's eyes.

"I'd 'ave done it to" Gwendal slurred as he collapsed onto the bed. Gunter stopped in the middle of removing his friend's boots and looked up, ready to have a good yell at his majesty's behalf.

"What do you mean?" He demanded.

"If I 'ad been made to marry you." Gwendal's voice was muffled by the pillow and the drink, but Gunter had heard him loud and clear. His blood turned to ice in his veins. Gwendal would have sought someone else if they had been married? His heart seemed to have problems beating.

"What… what is that supposed to mean?" Gunter asked as his vision started to blur.

"Y'don' love me" Gwendal gulped, sounding like that little child he'd been so alike previously. "Like Yuu'i don' love Wolf."

Gunter's heart started beating again, but irregularly as if not sure what it was supposed to be doing. He knew that one part of that statement was false, but the other half… was it true? That Yuuri did not love Wolfram? Of course it was, he realised and cursed himself for his stupidity. He had never loved Wolfram in the way he needed to be loved. Was it really no wonder that Wolfram had sought another's embrace? He would have done the same. And yet… there were laws to uphold. Especially where royal consorts were concerned. It didn't matter that he felt horrible doing it. No, there was nothing he could do for Wolfram now. But he could comfort Gwendal, who had finally let his impenetrable armor shift just a little.

"You are wrong" he said gently as he pulled the blankets up over the drunk man, "I do love you. With all my heart." But Gwendal was fast asleep and did not hear him. Gunter smiled fondly, pressed a kiss to his snot-stained, flushed cheek and promised himself that he would tell Gwendal again tomorrow. And then he would do everything in his power to show that it was true,

That way, at least something good would come from this disaster.

* * *

Wolfram had no idea how many days he had been imprisoned without any word to or from anyone. Gunter had ordered that he be kept isolated, and he had no idea what had happened to anyone after he had been found out. Mostly, he worried for Gisela whom had also been imprisoned. He also felt rather desperate to get some sort of message to Yozak, but his lover had left the morning of the discovery on some sort of mission that would keep him away for at least a month. And since Wolfram had no idea how long he had been imprisoned, he did not know whether he had returned yet. Not that he could ask if he wanted to keep the other man safe from whatever terrible fate the highly irate Gunter would order for him. He leaned back against the heavy stone wall, distractedly stroking his swollen belly. Even though he was pretty sure how this tale was going to end, there was a part of him that did not regret for a moment choosing to keep this baby. There was a tiny chance that he could appeal to Yuuri's good heart to allow him to give life to his daughter before his execution. Surely Yuuri would see that she was innocent of Wolfram's sins.

* * *

Gwendal blinked at the woman in front of him through his dreadful headache, trying his best not to appear as hungover as he was.

"May I ask your name?" He finally ground out.

"Elizabeth." She replied promptly. "I am Raven's niece and a childhood friend of Wolfram. I came as soon as I heard the dreadful news. I was hoping I would be allowed to see him to say goodbye." Her green eyes, so similar to Wolfram's, were full of sadness as she looked at him pleadingly. Gwendal had never been able to deny Wolfram anything when he looked at him like that. Now he found that he could not say no to Elizabeth either, where she stood with her pleading green eyes and her dainty hands worrying at the empire waistline of her flowy purple dress.

"Very well" he sighed and winced at the light shining of her blond hair, "you may see him. But only for ten minutes, mind."

She flashed him a grateful smile and curtsied deeply. Then, she seemed to think of something else.

"The entire ordeal is so terrible" she said, "would it be considered awfully rude if I left Blood Pledge after having seen him? I cannot bear to stay, knowing that he… that he is" she started to cry, "that he is a traitor to our good king Yuuri!"

Gwendal grimaced. He hated when women cried; it made him want to fix things even if they had no business being fixed.

"Of course not, Lady Elizabeth" he soothed. "Go see him now, so that you may depart at your leisure."

She gave him a watery, but grateful little smile and turned to leave.

"Thank you" she said as she curtsied one final time and exited his office.

The moment the door closed behind her, her tears vanished and a look of grim determination came across her face.


	5. Chapter 4

Elizabeth stepped into Wolfram's cell and dismissed the guard with a sweet smile. He seemed dazzled by the pretty girl and vanished down the hall without so much as a by your leave, leaving a very puzzled Wolfram alone with his old friend.

"Lizzie? What are you doing here?" But Elizabeth did not reply; she pulled of her hair, revealing it to be a wig. Underneath, her golden curls proved themselves to have been shorn into a style that was almost identical to his own.

"Hurry up!" she hissed, "I'm only allowed to visit for ten minutes!" Wolfram stared at her blankly, not comprehending what she was doing.

"Strip!" she ordered in the same tone of voice. "We have to hurry!"

"Lizzie…" Wolfram began hesitantly, "what are you doing?"

"I'm saving your life, you fool! Now give me your clothes!" Wolfram was not usually this slow on the uptake, but he sat stock still and stared at the stripping girl in wide-eyed confusion. Elizabeth was down to her underwear now, and he could see that she had bound her torso with some thick white fabric that went from just below her armpits down to her hips. It restrained her breasts, leaving her to look surprisingly flat chested. With her hair cut short, she looked like a young boy. She looked at him with exasperation.

"Here is a dress cut to hide your belly, a wig made of my hair, my jewelry. My chariot is waiting in the courtyard to take you to Caloria where you can seek asylum with Lady Gilbit. Now hurry up, this is your only chance!"

That got Wolfram moving, and with his eyes spilling over with the damn tears that seemed to be his constant companion these days he dressed in Elizabeth's dress, adorned her jewelry and adjusted the wig atop his head. Finally, they stood face to face. A man in a dress, a woman in a prisoner's outfit. But if you didn't know this was the case you would never have been able to tell.

Elizabeth hugged Wolfram briefly, so as not to dishevel the wig.

"I love you, Wolf" she said gently. "Now go. It will be alright."

"Thank you" he whispered, tears streaking down his cheeks. "Oh Lizzie, I-"

"I know. Now go, my chariot is waiting." Wolfram turned to leave, but then he remembered something.

"What about-" he didn't finish the sentence, did not dare to say the name. Elizabeth smiled at him.

"I'm not stupid, you know. I saw the way you looked at each other when I was visiting last year. He knows about my little plan. In fact, he adjusted my hair when I showed him the wig so it'd look more like yours." Just then, the guard returned to escort Lady Elizabeth from the dungeon.

"Good bye, Wolfram" Wolfram said, trying to sound as much like Elizabeth as possible. He was rewarded by a rather watery smile and wave.

It was the last he saw of his friend.

* * *

Two days after Elizabeth's short visit to Blood Pledge Castle the Maoh returned from his journey. In his company was Lady Celi, back from another of her 'voyages of true love'. The maoh seemed happy to be back, but after having been met by a solemn Gunter and a grim-faced Gwendal his joyful expression at returning seemed to vanish in an instant. Instead, there was a look of pure pain and betrayal that made all those present hurt for him.

"Where is he?" He asked in a voice that was so cold it was frightening. No one had ever seen him that angry before.

"In… in the dungeons, your majesty."

"Take me to him immediately." Yuuri ordered, sounding like a king for once. No one dared disobey him, and thus it was that the King along with his brothers-in-law, his mother-in-law and his chief advisor went down to the dungeons to see the Royal-Consort.

* * *

Wolfram sat huddled in a corner, his belly round and heavy. When the door was opened to admit the coldly furious king, he looked up with dulled green eyes. Yuuri spared no time on empty words, instead he went straight for the jugular.

"How long has this been going on?" He demanded, gesturing to the swollen belly Wolfram had wrapped his arms around, as if to protect the unborn babe from the outside world.

"Long enough" was the cold reply.

The abruptness only served to incense Yuuri further, and with a furious snarl he demanded;

"Who is he?" Wolfram looked back, defiant.

"The one that I love much more than you are capable of even understanding."

What happened next, after the words had left Wolfram's lips, was something that no one present would ever forget. In addition, it was also something none of them would ever mention again. Yuuri's eyes turned pitch black with rage, and then there was the roar of water as his power tore itself free in the form of two giant water dragons, throwing themselves at the defenseless blond with roars of triumph.

After the deed had been done, Wolfram lay sprawled on the floor of his cell, soaked to the bone. He was not moving. After a horrified moment where they all stood frozen in shock, Yuuri let out a keening wail as he collapsed to his knees by the blond's side, pulling the dripping wet body into his arms. As he cried and begged forgiveness, the witnesses exchanged grim looks. They would cover this up. No one must know that the Maoh had just murdered his young husband.

* * *

Gwendal prepared his brother for his burial alone, having insisted that he be allowed to do so. He wanted to be sure that no one else but him knew that the body being placed on the pyre was not Wolfram's. He had known the instant he saw the prisoner in the cell that it was not his brother; had identified Elizabeth the moment she opened her mouth. They had been as similar as twins when they were young, but he had always been able to tell them apart. He did not know what had happened in that cell, and he suspected he never would. But as he prepared Elizabeth's body for the funeral, Gwendal found himself praying fervently. To the higher powers, that wherever his brother was he was safe. And to Elizabeth, thanking her for her sacrifice.

Two days after 'Wolfram's' burial, Gisela was beheaded for high treason against the Maoh, in keeping his consort's faithlessness a secret and attempting to hide the true paternity of his unborn child. Gunter kept a stiff upper lip, but later that day cried himself to sleep in Gwendal's arms. They were not lovers yet; that would not happen until their wounds had healed. But it would come with time.

The very same night that Gisela was executed, Yozak disappeared without a trace from Blood Pledge Castle, never to be seen again. Gwendal hoped fervently that the other man would never step foot in Shin Makoku again; he could not bear it if he had to make his littlest brother a widower.

Celi changed after her son's death; she stopped looking for true love and eventually settled down with a minor noblewoman who seemed to make her happy.

Conrad grieved bitterly, blaming himself for not seeing the signs before it was too late, but eventually he healed enough to move on with his life. He became a vagabond, never staying for long anywhere. It was as if he kept travelling, kept trying to do good and help people, in an attempt to make up for not stopping Yuuri that day in the dungeon.

Yuuri never spoke of Wolfram, but he never forgot him either. What had happened the day in the dungeon marked him deeply, and it had changed him at his core. He became an attentive, patient ruler who adhered to all rules and traditions, no matter how odd or old-fashioned. He never let his temper get the best of him again. He eventually married a kind but barren woman, and raised Gwendal's first born son to be Maoh after him.


	6. Epilogue

Yozak wrapped his arms around his husband's waist, nuzzling into the nape of his neck. Wolfram laughed and leaned back against him.

"Stop that" he admonished, "Eleanor is playing just a few feet away!" But he made no attempt to pull away.

"I know" Yozak agreed as his hands slid down to cup Wolfram's slightly rounded belly.

"Do you think we should tell Eleanor about her little brother tonight?" he asked as he pressed kisses to Wolfram's neck.

Wolfram looked at the little girl running around on the grass, chasing butterflies. She was shrieking with glee, her red curls bouncing around her sweet face.

"No" he decided after having considered it momentarily. "If we do, she will be to excited to ever fall asleep and I want to do some _adult_ celebrating."

"Tomorrow, then." Yozak laughed against the shell of his ear.

Wolfram let his thoughts slip away to a soft, happy daydream in which the child that grew beneath his heart laid in his arms. He was hoping that the boy would have his father's kind, brilliant blue eyes. The eyes that had ensnared his heart all those years ago.

He sighed happily in agreement.

"Tomorrow."

 _-Fin._


End file.
